Lamp holder



June 24, 1941.

F. C. DE REAMER LAMP HOLDER Filed March 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w, 6 Wr O fw 5A B H a e R e nD e; vG nK n m umm W W June 24, 194.1.

F. c. DE REAMER 7,117

LAMP HOLDER Filed March '7, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pi g. 9.

unumwiiXQ Ill. T g

Inventor: FranK C. De Reamer: by 49 His Attorney Patented June 24, 1941LAMP HOLDER Frank C. De Reamer, Bridgeport, Conn, assign-' or to GeneralElectric Company, a

of New York corporation Application lilarch 7, 1939, Serial No. 260,295

6 Claims.

My invention relates to supports for electric lamps, and moreparticularly to a socket con struction for lamps of the double enddischarge type such as tubular fluorescent lamps.

My invention relates to lamp sockets of the type described in the patentof Anthony J. Marshaus No. 2,137,174, which is assigned to the sameassignee as the instant application.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a socket constructionfor double end lamps of the type described in which the socket isadapted for mounting on the surface of a support or for flush mountingof the lamp upon the support, in which position a .portion of the socketextends below the support.

Another object of my invention is to provide a socket in which theterminals are concealed thereby obviating the dangers of shock or shortcircuits.

Still another object of my invention is the provision, of an improvedmeans for mounting the socket contact members in the body of the socketand the provision of improved terminal construcof a preferred form of asocket constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 3 is asectional view through the socket taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is a view of the interior of the cover employed in theconstruction of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the elements ofthe preferred form of socket construction; Figs. 6 and '7 illustrate theposition of the lamp contact pins during insertion of the lamp in thesocket; Fig. 8 is a modified form of the socket construction shown byFig. 3; Fig. 9 is a sec-' tional view along the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; Fig.10 is an elevational view of the rear of the cover employed in thesocket construction of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 isa view of a. third modification of my socket construction inwhich the socket is partlcularly designed for flush mounting; Fig. 12 isa sectional view along the line l2-l2 of Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 is anexploded view showing the cover, and the insulating plate for the socketconstruction of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 7,inclusive, my socket comprises a. base 20, a cover 2| and contactmembers 22, The contact members cooperate with and engage the contactpins or prongs 23 extending from a base 24 at each end of a tubular lamp25, such as a fluorescent lamp. The base 20 and cover 2! ar made of anysuitable insulating materiai such as a phenolic condensation product andfiller.

The base member 20 is formed with a comparatively narrow extendedportion 26, which provides "a supporting structure for the lamp 25, andalso with a comparatively wider base portion 21, the sides of which areflared outwardly from the extension 26 to provide a support for thesocket structure. Disposed longitudinally of the base extension 26 aretwo channels 28 which receive the contact members 22. At one end thechannels are provided with laterally extending grooves 29 and at theother end the channels merge into a recess 30. As shown moreparticularly by Fig. 5, the recess forms a portion of the socket bodyhaving a thickness reduced from that of the extension 26. Upstandingfrom the face of the recess 30 is a cylindrical boss 3| provided with adiametrical slot 32 which divides the boss into two semi-circularsegments 33 for a purpose to be described later.

The contacts 22 are provided with elongated shank portions 44 which areseated within the channels 28. At one end of each of the shank portionsis secured a terminal member or plate 45 having an extension t6 spotwelded, as shown at H, to a laterally extending projection t8 formedintegrally with the contact member 22. Manifestly, other securing meansmay be employed. When the shank portions 44 of the contact members 22are seated in the longitudinal channels 28 the projections 48 and theterminal extensions t5 rest in the slots 29, as shown more particularlyby Fig. 2. The other end of each of the contacts is 'formed with arecess 49 providing a contact surface for engaging the contact pin 23 ofa tubular lamp. The recessed portion of the contact extends around thesegment 33 of the upstanding 'boss 3i and is normally biased intoengagement with the segment due to thefact that theshank portion of thecontact is bowed slightly at the point 50. Each of the contact members22 is held securely within the longitudinal channels 28 by the closefitting engagement of the terminal extension 46 within the slot 29 andalso by the fact that the contact is biased against the segment 33 inthe manner indicated; this means that a portion of the contact bearsagainst an abutment 50' forming part of the wall of the longitudinalchannel 28. When the lamp is inserted within a socket the contact isflexed about this abutment in a manner to be described later.

The cover member 2| is formed with a'comparatively narrow extendingportion and a comparatively wider base portion 2t conforming to thecontour of the body member 20. It is provided with an integral flange 5|extending around the periphery thereof so that when the cover member isplaced over the base member a totally enclosed structure is provided forthe contacts. In addition, the flange encloses the recess 30. In orderto provide for entry of the lamp contact pins in the contacts 22 thecover member is pro-.- vided with a slot 52 which is in alignment withthe diametrical slot 32 formed in the 3|. The slot 52 merges with anopening 53 formed in the front wall of the cover member which exposesthe contact surfaces 49 and the segments 33 for engagement with thecontact end of the lamp. The cover is secured in position on the basemember by means of a plurality of rivets 54 which pass through openings55 in the-cover member and are driven into corresponding recesses 56-formed in the base member 20. Manifestly, other means may be providedfor securing these elements together.

Each of the terminal plates 45 is provided with a terminal screw 51 sothat an electrical conductor may be connected to the contacts 22 throughthe medium of the terminal structure. The base 21 of the socket memberis provided with grooves 58 upstanding from the bottom thereof forreceiving the insulated conductor; ,Similarly, the front face of thecover ,2! is provided with upstanding grooves 59 which, when the covermember is assembled on the base, are in axial alignment with the groove58. In order to secure the terminal members within the housing of thesocket the cover plate 2| is provided with recesses 50 which receive theterminal members 45. Extending upwardly from the recesses 60 are slots5| which receive the screws 51 and which provide a bearing surface 5|for engaging the offset portion 62 formed on the terminal members 45 tohold the terminal members securely within the socket, as shown moreparticularly by Fig. 3. The slots 50 and GI are formed in a forwardextension 52 of the base 2| of the cover member,

' as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. This structure provides a housingfor'the terminal members.

The cover member 2| is provided with a slot 53 extending through thebase portion 2| of the cover member and which is adapted to receive anysuitable means for mounting the socket upon a support, such as the bolt64, shown by Fig. 1. A plate of insulating material 65, for example,fiber, or the like, is placed over the grooves 58 and the slots 50, asshown by Fig. 3, and is held in place by the bolt 84 and a nut 65. Theplate protects the terminal screws 51.

In use one of the socket members is mounted to be engaged by each end ofthe tubular lamp as shown by Fig. 1, and the lamp is then moveddownwardly into engagement with the socket by passing the pins 23through the slot 521 in the cover member and the slot 32 in the boss 3|,so that the pins take the position shown by Fig. 6. Thereafter the lampis rotated to an angle of approximately 90 degrees in either direction.During this movement the pins deflect the contact members 22 so thatthey are guided into the contact recesses 49 where they are heldsecurely by the segmental members 33. This is the final position of thelamp contact pins and is illustrated by Fig. 7. In rotating the lampprongs to final position they are guided by the circular rims of thesegments 33. The contacts 22 are flexed about the abutment 50 so that inflnal position they are biased to force the contact pins into electricalpressure contact with the contact recesses 49. It should be noted thatin final position the lamp cannot be withdrawn from the socket withoutfirst rotating it to the position shown by Figs. 1 and 6, because eventhough the contacts 22 could be deflected to permit upward movement ofthe contact pins 23 the latter would still engage the perimeter of theopening 53 formed in the cover member, thereby preventing removal of thelamp from the socket.

According to my invention the contact members 22 are held securelywithin the channels of the body member by the close fitting engagementof the terminal members within the groove 23 and also by the covermember 2| which bears against the terminal plates 45 and locks themsecurely within the base member 20. By providing the tact is flexedduring mounting of the lamp contact pin is materially reduced. The bowedportion 50 biases the contact toward the segment 33 giving firm grip onthe lamp prong. When the recess 30 is closed by the flange 5| 0n thecover member a chamber is formed having semicircular sl-ots on each sideof the boss 3| to receive and house the contact pins of the lamp.

The lamp sockets may be mounted upon the surface of asupporting plate orpanel 61 in either of two ways, as show: by Fig. 1. To the left of Fig.1, the socket is shown as surface mounted on the top of the plate, inwhich position a tang 58 depending from the lower face of the base 21provides a means for accurately locating the position of the socketmember in accordance with the length of the lamp with which the socketis to be used. The socket is held in position .by the bolt 64 whichextends through the slot 63 and an opening in the plate 51 and isthreaded into the nut 55 on the underside of the plate. In mounting thesocket, the nut 56 is first unthreaded from the bolt 64 permittingremoval of the insulating plate 65 to give access to the terminals 45.After connection of the conductors, the plate is replaced and the nutthreaded on the bolt beneath the plate 51 in the manner indicated.Alternatively, the socket member may be flush mounted in a manner toposition the tubular lamp flush with ithe surface of the supportingmeans, as shown to the right of Fig. 1. This means that an opening isformed in the supporting means 51 to receive the extension of the socketmember 2| which then extends above the surface of the supporting meanswhile the base portion 2| is maintained below the supporting means forconnection to the conductors of an electrical circuit. The socket issecured in position on the supporting plate by means of the bolt 64which clamps the plate between the head of the bolt and the base portion2|. This means that the wiring to the is different from that shown inthe preferred form in that the contact members are provided with aterminal means more particularly adapted for both flush andsuriacemounting of the device, and the cover member takes the tom a platefitting within a recess in the base member. In the modified iorm of thesocket, the base member 18 is provided with two semi-circular recesses Hwhich are separated by the upstanding seg- 'mental bosses I2 spaced by adiametrical slot I8.

with the segmental boss 12 in a manner and for the purpose described inconnection with the showing of the socket of Fig. 2. 'At the other end,each or the contact members 15 is provided with a terminal member orplate 11. The contact member 15 is bowed at a point 18 midway betweenthe terminal end and the contact end in a manner such that the contactis normally biased to bring the contact surface .18 into close contactwith a lamp contact pin 23 which will be located between the segment andcontact surface. This means that the contact will pivotabout theabutment 18 formed in a wall of the channel 14 when flexed uponinsertion of the contact pins of a tubular lam-p in the socket. Toprovide for insertion of the lamp contact pins the base member isprovided with a slot 19'.

The terminal plate TI is spot welded or otherwise secured to a lateralextension 88 formed integrally with the contact member I5. The terminalplate has an elongated base 8i adapted to receive a screw 82 and also isformed with an upstanding end 83 bent substantially at right angles tothe base and provided with a threaded opening 84 to receive the screw 82in an alternative position.

A cover 85 holds the contacts in position on the base. The cover isformed at one end with a fiat extension 86 fitting within a recess 81formed in the base member 78 and at the other end with an enlarged baseportion 88 surrounding the bottom portion of the body member 18 andproviding a housing for the terminals TI. The base portion 88 extends infront of the fiat extension 86, as shown by Fig. 9, and is provided withtwo transverse grooves 89 to receive the terminal base 8| and the screw82. At their outer ends the grooves are provided with enlarged recesses88 which receive the upstanding ends 83 of the terminal members. Whenthe screws are threaded into the ends of the terminal members, as shownin dotted line by Fig. 9, they remain seated within the recesses 98.

The cover is secured to the body member by means of a plurality of pins9| which pass through openings 92 in the cover extension 86 and arefrictionally retained in the holes 93 formed in the body member. In thismanner the cover is held securely within the recess 81 maintaining thecontact members in assembled relationship on the base. The coverextension is provided with an opening 94 so that the contact surfaces 16and segmental members 12 are exposed for engagement by the lamp pins. Aslot 95 merges with the opening 94 and is in alignment with the slot 19'to permit insertion of the cdritact pins in the recesses I l.

The grooves 89 in the base of the cover are closed by a plate ofinsulating material 96, for

example, sheet fiber, which also serves to protect they receive theheads of the screws.

the terminal members II. The insulating plate is secured to the base bymeans of a hollow rivet 91 having a rectangular head 88; the rivetpasses through a longitudinal groove 88 formed in the base of the coverand the head 98 is seated within a slot I88 of a configurationcorresponding to that of the head. This means that the rivet-cannot berotated in the base and the inside of the rivet may be threaded toreceive a mounting screw. The insulating plate 96 is provided withopenings l0l in line with the terminal screws 82 so that In order toprovide a means to locate accurately the position of the socket upon amounting panel a lug I82 is formed on the base member. The lug may beseated in a notch in the supporting panel memher.

The modified form of socket member, shown by Figs. 8, 9 and 10 may beeither fiush" or surface mounted in the manner described in connectionwith the preferred embodiment, as shown by Fig. 1. When surface"mounted, the socket is mounted on the upper surface of a panel support,similar to the showing of the left of Fig. 1, and a securing bolt orscrew may be passed through or threaded into the hollow rivet 91 to holdthe socket in position. Since the base portions of the terminal membersare now hidden by the mounting panel, the screws 82 are moved to the endpositions, as shown in dotted lines by Fig. 9, and are threaded into theopenings 84 ii". the end portions of the terminal members. Connectionsto electrical conductors are easily made at this point. When mounted inflush position similar to the showing to the right of Fig. 1, a portionof the socket extends above the panel with the base of the socketremaining beneath the panel and being held in position by any suitablesecuring means threaded into the hollow rivet. In this positionelectrical connections are made to the base portions of the terminalmembers and the screws 82 are threaded into the base of the terminals,as shown in full lines by Fig. 9. The modified form of socket has theadvantage that electrical connections may be made when the socket ismounted in surface position, similar to showing to the left of Fig. 1,without removing the socket from the mounting panel. This isaccomplished by using the ends 83 of the terminal members.

A third form of my invention is illustrated by Figs. 11, 12' and 13.This socket is provided with a simplified form of terminal constructionbut is one which, at the same time, insures a highly effectiveelectrical contact between the lamp terminal prongs and the socketcontacts. This socket is particularly adapted for flush mount- A bodymember H8 is provided with a recess ill of reduced thickness whichmerges with a plurality of channels l l2 each adapted to receive acontact member I i3. Two segmental members H4 project from the recessIll! and are "separated by a channel or slot H5. These members cooperatewith the contact recess H8 formed in one end of the contact members M3to grip the contact pins of a tubular lamp in the manner described inthe embodiment of Fig. 2. Each of the contact members is provided at theother end with a bent back portion forming a substantially U-shaped bendi ll having an extending arm H8 substantially parallel to the shankportion H9 of the main body of the contact member. Since the contactmembers are formed of resilient material, such as a spring bronze, thearm H8 may be flexed relative to the shank portion 9. The channel H2 isformed with a semi-circular end wall I20 to receive the U-bend II! andalso with a lateral recess or slot I2I to receive the arm H8. Thechannel II2, bend I20 and slot I2I are so formed in size that in orderto mount the contact member upon the base, it is necessary to fiex'thearm I I8 toward the shank portion I I9 so that the contact member may beslipped into the channel. This means that the shank portion I I9 isnormally biased to force the contact surface IIB into close engagementwith the segment II4 so that when a contact pin is disposed between thecontact surface and segment it will be held securely insuring anexcellent electrical connection between the two elements. The contactmember pivots about the bend III upon insertion of the lamp prong. Theend of the arm H8 abuts. the edge of the slot I2I and prevents movementof th contact within the body member.

Each of the contact members is provided with .a terminal constructioncomprising a projection or tab I22 formed integrally with the arm 'I I8and receiving a terminal screw I23. The tab extends laterally of'thecontact member. As shown by Fig. 11, the tabs I22 and screws I23 extendat a slight angle to the vertical on opposite sides of the body memberand are seated within recesses I24.

A cover member I25 provided with a flange I26. fits over the body memberso that the flange encloses the recess III forming semi-circularhousings for the contact surfaces I16. A slot I21 is formed in the coverin alignment with slot H separating the segmental members and the slotI21 merges with an opening I28 in the cover member which gives access tothe contact members. The cover member is provided with recesses I29 inline with therecesses I 214 formed in the body member and the recessesmerge with slots I30 which receive the ends of the terminal screws. Aninsulating plate I'3I is secured to the base of the socket by means of atab I32 which is provided with an opening I33 tofit over a pin I34formed on the cover member. The tab rests in a recess I35 so that thecover member may lie flush against the body member. The cover member issecured in positlon by any suitable fastening means such as v the rivetsI 36 which pass through openings I31 and I38 formed in the cover andbody member, respectively. The rivets also engage a flange I39 of amounting plate I40.

In mounting, the socket extends through an opening I in a supportingpanel I42 until the mounting plate engages the lower surface of thepanel. A bolt I43 is used to secure the mounting plate upon the panel.In this position the socket is "flush mounted with the contacts abovethe panel for reception of a lamp.- The terminal construction is belowthe panel so that the wiring system is hidden from view. Afterconnection of the conductors to the terminal screws the ends of theinsulating plate are bent upwardly at an angle, as shown by dotted linesin Fig. 12, to protect and insulate the terminal connections againstaccidental contact such as might damage or short circuit the wiringsystem.

With a socket constructed in accordance with either of the embodimentsof my invention, it is possible to mount a lamp flush with the surfaceof a supporting panel; if the supporting panel comprises a reflectingsurface, this means that a highly eilfective light source is obtained.The wiring is totally concealed with this method of mounting. In somsituations it may be desirable to provide a continuous line of tubularlamps. This may be easily done simply by mounting two of the socketsback to back.

The contact members are so constructed and arranged within the sockethousing that they firmly grip; the lamp contact pins and make aneiiective electrical connection therewith. Thesockets may be used tosuspend lamps from ceilings inasmuch as it is impossible for the lampsto drop out of the sockets. To remove the lamps they must first berotated to bring the contact pins in alignment with the slots in thesocket and thereafter the lamps may be lifted out of the sockets. I

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. A socket comprising a member provided with spaced channels, contactmembers mounted in said channels, abutment elements carried by saidmember and being spaced from each other to form a slot for' receivingthe contact pins of the lamp, said contact members being'formed at oneend with contact portions cooperating with said elements to grip lampcontact prongs, the other ends of said contact members being bent in theform of a- U within said channel, terminal means mounted on the bentends of said contact members and a cover plate mounted on said baseenclosing said channels to hold said contact members in position, saidcover plate being provided with recesses for receiving said terminalmeans.

2. A socket comprising a base provided with spaced channels therein,contact members mounted in said channels, abutment elements carried bysaid base and being spaced from each other to form a slot, said contactmembers being formed at one end with contact portions cooperating withsaid elements to grip lamp contact pins between said portions andelements, the other ends of said contact members being bent back uponthemselves to form a U bend within said channels, each of said bent endsbeing provided with an integral lateral projection extending outsidesaid channel, a cover plate mounted on said base enclosing said channelsto hold said contact members in position, said cover plate beingprovided with recesses to receive said lateral projections, and aterminal screw mount- I ed on each of said projections.

3. In combination, a lamp socket comprising a base provided with spacedchannels, contact members mounted in said channels, segmental abutmentelements carried by said member and being spaced from each other to forma slot, said contact members being formed at one end with contactportions cooperating with said elements to grip lamp contact ends, theother ends of said contact members being bent in the form of a U in saidchannels, the bent ends of said contact members being provided withlateral projections, a cover plate mounted on said member and closingsaid channels to maintain said contact members in position, terminalscrews carried by each of said projections, and a plate of insulatingmaterial carried by said base, the ends of said insulating plate beingbendable to protect said terminal screws.

4. In combination, a base provided with walls forming spacedchannels,said walls being broken away adjacent one end of said base to form aflat portion of reduced thickness providing a-recess, contact membersdisposed in said channels recess, abutment elements extending from thebottom of said recess and being spaced from each other to form a slot toreceive lamp contact pins, said elements cooperating with said contactsurfaces to grip the lamp contact pins, a cover mounted on said base andbeing provided with a lateral peripheral flange surroundin the recessformed by the flat reduced portion to enclose said contact surfaces,said cover being provided with a slot in alignment with saidfirst-mentioned slot, and terminal means secured to the other ends ofsaid contact members.

5. A lamp socket comprising a base provided with walls forming spacedchannels, said walls being broken away adjacent an end of said base toform a flat portion of reduced thickness providing a recess, segmentalabutment elements extending from the bottom of said recess and beingspaced from each other to form a slot, contact members mounted in saidchannels, said contact members being formed at one end with contactsurfaces extending into said recess and cooperating with said segmentalabutment elements to grip lamp contact prongs, a cover mounted on saidbase, said cover being provided with a peripheral flange to enclose therecess formed by the flat reduced portion of said base, said cover beingprovided with a slot in alignment with said first-mentioned slot, theother ends of said contact members being provided with lateralprojections, and terminal means carried by said pro- J'ections.

6. A socket comprising a base provided with walls forming spacedchannels, said walls being broken away adjacent an end of said base toform a flat portion of reduced thickness providing a recess, segmentalabutment elements extending from the bottom of said recess and beingspaced from one another to form a slot, contact members mounted in saidchannels and being provided at one end with contact surfaces extendinginto said recess and cooperating with said segmental abutment elementsto grip lamp contact pins, the other ends of said contact members beingbent back upon themselves, the bent ends of said contact members beingprovided with terminal means, a cover mounted on said base and beingprovided with a peripheral flange surrounding the recess formed by thefiat reduced portion of said base and enclosing said contact surfaces,said cover having a slot in axial alignment with said first-mentionedslot, and a mounting plate carried by said assembly for mounting saidsocket on a support.

FRANK C. DE REAMER.

